Diebels Plato 13

Formerly brewed at Brauerei Diebels (InBev)
Style: Altbier
Issum, Germany

Serve in Kölsch/Altbier

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cheese, spruce, rotten eggs, toast, chocolate, red, sparkling, tan foam, light sweetness, very bitter, medium sourness, salty, full body, creamy, bitter, long finish, flat,

Dark hazy body with a fine head. Sweet aroma of pilsner malt (?) and a little alcohol. Flavor is nice and smooth with notes of dark roasted malt and spices. An easy drinkable ale!

Diebels bills this as a porter, a style not typical to Germany. Plato 13 is very similar to the only other German porter I’ve tasted (Hoepfner in Karlsruhe) and goes to show just how broad the style can be. There was a big nose, but not all good: a little too musty for my taste. Large bubbles result in null head retention. Its color is dark, dark brown, but clear - not opaque like some British porters. The flavor was a fruity, with toffee undertones and at times brandy-like thanks to the 6% alcohol. Overall well balanced. Compared to British porters this had a thin palate and what I call a round mouth feel. Seems like Diebels just increased the malt and alcohol of their famous Altbier to arrive at this offering. Marketing slogan: ’Tastes Quicker’ ... hmmm - interesting. Also: since when is the use of CO2 in the fermenting process part of the Reinheitsgebot? Certianly not in the 1516 orginal document....

pleasant fat malt stink emanates out of bizarre 25cl Red Bull can as you pop it open. heaps of raisins and chocolate hit you immediately, followed by lightly rummy finish without a lot of hops going on. a bit thicker and sweeter than normal diebels as mr. pogo says.

Dark but not black. Decent off white head. Had a skunkiness ala Sam Smiths. The flavor was pretty good. Has a coffee flavor to it which I enjoyed. Thin in the malts and hops.

Burnt, slight barley aroma. Dark, though not nearly opaque, with a frothy head that disappeared too quickly (due to the carbonation?), but strangely it seemed somewhat lager-like in appearance and character otherwise. Good enough, but not as good as I expected and containing less flavor than I hoped.

A slightly bigger version of Diebles Alt, and their version of "sticke" or secret beer. Bigger in flavor and alcohol, and a decent example of stickebier, but like Diebels Alt, not a classic example of the style. Pours to a deep copper color, with a tight white head that fades, and a moderate to soft carbonation. The nose has some nice herbal hop aromatics, with some sweet malt aroma. Body is a little slicker on the tongue than altbier, and has a touch more sweetness, and a hints of dark toast. Finishes with more malt up front, then ends with a quick snap of herbal hop bitterness. A good beer, worth trying if but once.

A little sweet and the burned malts taste like a schwarzbier.

The bottle looks really good, the beer in the glass also. Hoppy-dry aroma. Starts mild-malty, the middle is more roasty, burnt, scratchy. The finish is well balanced, modest malty. Okay, but not more.

The blabel describes it as a porter. Hint of roasted malt and mango in the aroma. Some roasted malt in the flavor, combined with a slight sourness. Apple, orange and chocolate. The flavor is OK, but it lacks the power and taste of real porter.